


bloody footprints, burnt bridges

by KnifingGale



Category: Death Stranding (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Female Sam Porter Bridges - Freeform, Papa Wolf!Cliff, Platonic Soulmates, Protectiveness, Romantic Soulmates, Rule 63, temporary suicide because of repatriation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:32:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21514222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnifingGale/pseuds/KnifingGale
Summary: In one world, Sam built bridges and Higgs tore them down. In another, they burnt down bridges and built up their own.AKAa Soulmate AU in which Higgs sticks to being an altruistic delivery guy in a post-apocalyptic world albeit with an assault rifle and powers that he may or may not abuse sometimes. Sam, on the other hand, deals with an overprotective father, connected to her beyond death due to the shared beach between soulmates, and BRIDGES who can’t help but continue demanding more…
Relationships: Female Sam Porter Bridges & Clifford Unger, Female Sam Porter Bridges/Higgs Monaghan, Sam Porter Bridges & Clifford Unger, Sam Porter Bridges/Higgs Monaghan
Comments: 17
Kudos: 155





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

Their first meeting was somewhat ill-placed to say the least. Sam had been on the run from MULEs and Higgs…

Well, he had been out _ hunting _with his trusty old assault rifle.

“Need help, sweetheart?” Looking up from hurriedly stacking up her cargo onto her back, Sam shook her head. Lou was alright and her cargo appeared to not have been damaged beyond what her container repair spray couldn’t take care of. 

“Don’t talk much, do you?

“I don’t.” She stated bluntly, putting every bit of effort into making the man-who was most likely a terrorist with his assault rifle for all she knew- do something along the lines of _ ‘fuck off’_. 

That bastard had stormed the camp exactly when she was passing through, attracting attention to the area where she had been conveniently sneaking through. 

Said bastard slung the assault rifle over his shoulder similar to one hefting a baseball bat and smiled with a grin as sharp as a knife, “The name’s Peter Englebert-” 

Sam paused. Wait, he was- 

“You’re that pizza asshole!” She blurted out. Sam liked to consider herself as a woman of few words with the way things turned out. Yet, those fucking obnoxious pizza orders drove her insane. 

The bastard had ordered gouda fucking cheese from the Timefall farm with luxurious champagne to celebrate with his ‘significant other’. 

To her surprise, Peter Englebert only bit into his gloved right hand and pulled, tugging it off. He chuckled and only said two words. 

Ones that made her heart stutter.

_ Found you. _

Well, _ shit_. 

The words sprawled across her left wrist and the words scrawled in chicken scratch across the knuckles of his right hand.

**NEED HELP, SWEETHEART?**

**YOU”RE THAT PIZZA ASSHOLE!**

_ Oh, the beauty of soulmarks. _

“Come on now, darlin’,” Peter Englebert drawled out with an almost unholy delight in his eyes, “We’ve got bodies to burn.”

“Not my business,” She murmured while adjusting the straps on her suit. The cargo had to be secure if she wanted to go over the mountains to avoid further encounters with MULEs. She had thought that the MULEs were something she could handle.

And she was right.

It was _ Peter fucking Englebert _ that she couldn’t handle. 

The said man grinned from ear to ear like the Cheshire cat atop of the tree, “Ah, but it would be a mighty shame if I had to leave one of these MULES to pop,” he added, “And right near an old prepper who kindly gives out meals to starving orphans-”

Sam barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes right then and there. _ This... _this was why she wanted to be a damn hermit delivering packages to other fellow hermits across America from sea to shining sea. 

Kohl-rimmed eyes grinned down at her and his smile only widened. 

It happened in a flash. One moment, he was standing in front of her, the next he was whispering into her ear as he brushed a strand of auburn hair back from her eyes, “We wouldn’t want that to happen now, would we?”

** _TOOCLOSETOOCLOSEGETAWAYYOU’REGOINGTOGETHURT-_ **

The bitter taste of ashes rested on her tongue. It was only when Lou made a confused noise and tapped on the glass of her pod that Sam finally pulled herself from her thoughts to peer at her surroundings. Stunned, Sam’s mind slowly processed what happened within the longest ten minutes of her life. Only then did Sam realize five things:

_ One_, she was at the incinerator.

_ Two_, there were dozens of bodies on the floor.

_ Three_, Peter Englebert was like Fragile which could only mean-

_ Four_, He was _**Higgs fucking Monaghan.**_

_ Five, _he had sent her to the only incinerator miles upon miles away from her route to deliver the ordered cargo.

_Six, _her soulmate left her a note.

_ “Relax, Sammy. Catch a breather or two. Oh and take care of the bodies. My apologies, sweetheart. I’ve got business to attend to.” - the particle of God that permeates all of existence. _

** _Higgs, you damn bastard._ **


	2. Chapter 2

Sam pulled and tugged at the sleeve of her protective clothing, hoping to relieve the itching sensation enveloping her wrist. It was that damn _ soulmark _again, although she didn’t know which soulmark was causing the crawling sensation on her wrist. 

She didn’t have anything against soulmarks. She really didn’t.

The image of the Junk Dealer embracing the Chiral Artist as they laughed with their soulmarks practically burning alight in the shadows of the shelter as they pressed against each other. They were perfect in that moment, two halves of the same whole. One side of the same coin, so to say. 

Yet such soulmates were rare.

Sam had delivered soulmates to their “fated” partner before only for them to shove doors in their soulmate’s face. Such was the usual outcome of fated pairs in a world where people were afraid of the dangers that came with connections and bridges. 

When Sam realized that Higgs Monaghan was her soulmate, deep down she knew that it changed nothing in his eyes. There was amusement in his eyes and nothing else. No instant spark of connection.

Nothing. 

It was clear what they meant to one another.

And for her?

Well, that didn’t quite matter.

_ Orders and strategy haven’t changed _, as Diehardman put it upon hearing the news with a contemplative inflection in his voice. 

And so Sam was making her way on the cliffs back to the nearby distro center after recruiting yet another prepper-_ one who had initially kindly told her to “fuck off” _-to the cause of American Reconstructionism. 

Her footsteps came to a halt as she stopped, noticing the distinct smell of ozone and chiralium in the air. The meteorlogical forecast hadn’t predicted Timefall in the area for yet another 20 minutes.

_ Weathermen could be wrong _, Sam shrugged it off. However, it was worrisome, considering how she went about the cargo delivery trip with only a single non-lethal assault rifle, an emergency handgun, and delivery cargo on her person. She had only a couple of hematic grenades, barely enough to cover her escape in case she got caught by Gazer BTs and dragged into a confrontation with a Catcher BT. 

She’d have to use steal-

The loud crack of thunder interrupted her thoughts as the wind howled, stirring the vegetation on the ground. She glanced up at the sky only to blanch. The clouds had gone from the usual grayish-white to an angry black with the clouds conversing into what appeared to be a main spot in the sky.

Which happened to be right above her. 

_ Fuck _.

How the hell did the weather get so bad? This wasn’t just a Timefall shower-

It was more like a ** _supercell._**

But for something like this to happen so quickly was practically unprecedented.

And that’s when the _ Odradek _came out and whirred to life. 

Sam froze, making sure her breathing was even and as calm as possible. Her footsteps instantly halting on the rocky ground beneath her. First, the weather and now BTs?

Things couldn’t possibly get any worse-

** _“BB...”_ **

_ Well, shit. _

** _“W H E R E I S S H E ?”_ **

Of course, it just had to be _ him _, the poor delusional bastard trying to steal Lou from her. 

This particular soulmate was giving her meeting with Higgs Monaghan a run for its money in the contest of which meeting was the most fucked up. This one would likely be the winner. The metallic taste ofblood filled her mouth as she bit back a laugh by sinking teeth into her lips. 

_ It burned so damn much. _

_ That _soulmark was practically bursting alight in an embry glow on her wrist as she clamped down a hand on it as if it would somehow ease the burning. And of course, it fucking did not. 

Sam glared up at the damn bastard who kept on trying to steal Lou. She had been dragged into battlefield after battlefield like Dorothy being sucked up by a tornado and whisked away from Kansas. 

But, Sam?

She was still in fucking Kansas.

Literally.

So why the hell was the bastard still here? 

And it looked like the soldier himself didn’t know either. He was decked out in old-school military gear and clothing with an assault rifle secured in his arms. For all his superior gear, the man didn’t look like he was of sound mind as he was muttering under his breath- ** _“W H E R E A M I-”_ **

She gripped the cylinder shape of the hematic grenade in her right hand tightly. There was a chance she could provide cover for her escape.

If what she planned even counted as a legitimate form of escape really. 

And so when the soldier seemed to calm himself with the black cords detaching themselves from the fiery skeletal soldiers beside him, Sam, outgunned and outmanned, knew what to do.

** _“G E T D O W N-”_ **

She threw the hematic grenade which exploded in a burst of crimson, quickly following it up with a smoke grenade, and promptly ran like hell. 

The cliff’s edge was only several feet away as Sam rapidly dashed across the rocky terrain atop the cliffs with the aid of the equipped speed skeleton. 

_ ‘We’ll get out of here, Lou. I promise-’ _

** _“T A N G O S P O T T E D.” _ **

She felt the air being ripped from her lungs as Sam came crashing down onto the blurred ground below her. _ Two bullets _, she registered. One in the shoulder and other in the left leg.

He must have adjusted his tactics since their last confrontation on one of his battlefields. 

Still, she grimly smiled as she shakily brought herself back up again.

She was exactly where she wanted to be.

** _“BB...”_ **

Sam gazed into the dark eyes of the soldier before her. His rifle was lowered as his skeletal soldiers stayed at bay, ready to make the kill shot whenever the order was given. A part of her relaxed at what she saw yet she still remained tense and ready for what was next. She recognized that look.

The look of a parent who lost their everything-_their child_-

And that was exactly why she wouldn’t give in now.

The only way anyone would take Lou would have to be over Sam Porter Bridges’ dead body.

And for Sam?

Death was temporary. 

She could feel calloused fingers burning against her skin as the soldier lunged at her with desperation painting his every move.

Sam smiled with bloody teeth-_ he wouldn’t take her away. _ ** _Not now_ **\- 

And let herself fall and fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just have to say thank you so much for all of the wonderful kudos and comments! I never expected this story to get so many especially with my rusty and sparse writing style and also this (genderbend) being kind of a niche thing in all honesty. I really appreciate it all so much. I will definitely be responding to comments this week. Also, I apologize for the long wait. I've gotten writer's block for this story but have at last overcome it thanks to my oath to post a chapter before my birthday (next week). I will be sticking to that goal and try to upload another chapter to this story by next week. 
> 
> In regards to this chapter, the overall "mood" rather changed from the previous chapter as Sam's meeting with Higgs was definitely light-hearted. Things with Cliff however...well there's almost always angst whenever Cliff's involved. I hope you enjoyed this chapter despite the sudden change in the tone/mood. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning (tw): Temporary Suicide/Self-Repatriation.

One would think that falling off the cliff and into the rushing, white-foaming rapids below would have killed a person.

But not Sam Porter Bridges apparently.

_ Just my luck_, she thought. Her shoulder and leg were still throbbing and burning as she felt her vision double. Blood loss, she noted, having experienced many times before. She shakily got up on her own two feet to stumble her way to the treeline just past her position on the riverbank. 

Sam needed to _ Reset_.

She had to _ repatriate_, if she wanted any shot of fighting against the bastard and his skeleton soldiers. 

She had to protect Lou from them.

_ Never again_, she swore desperately. It wasn’t a promise, as promises were simply empty, little lies. This was an oath. The words of Deadman about how she named Lou was something that brought back those little memories. 

Sam sighed as she settled herself against a tree, noticing the rough bark scratching against her bare skin as a part of her BRIDGES standard-issue porter uniform had been torn open with her wounded shoulder exposed. 

"I’m such a dumbass, aren’t I?" she murmured lowly to the BB Pod attached at her chest. The little one shouldn't have to go through this or see the admittedly fucked-up thing she was about to do, “Should have known this would happen and packed up on weapons.”

Lou tapped her little fist against the glass of the pod as she gave an inquisitive sound. _ What are you doing_, her eyes seemed to ask. Sam felt her lips quirk up in a grimace of a smile. She pressed the button on the side of the BB pod, turning the glass to an opaque black. 

_ Lou shouldn’t see this_, she thought. 

Feeling the weight of the handgun holstered at her waist, Sam grabbed the handgun with steady hands and a clear mind. It was a familiar motion that she had done time and time again before. 

_ This was necessary_, she had repeated to herself, time and time again.

And it really was. 

Sam wasn’t doing this for herself.

She was doing this for Lou and all those who depended on her.

The barrel of the handgun pressed hard against her temple as Sam counted back in her head. It was like those surgeries where one counted backwards. 

_ I’m sorry, Lou. _

**3** ****

_I couldn’t protect you from him up there. _

**2**

_I’ll do better._

** 1 **

** _I swear. _ **

_ It was funny_, she thought in the flash of the moment. Sam could have sworn she saw golden flecks and a uniquely chiral flash appear in her vision. 

Ah, but that was impossible. The Soldier and his men couldn’t teleport from what she saw of them since they appeared with that supercell storm. 

And no one else, not even _ him_, would come for her.

And so Sam let herself fall and fall once again, this time into the icy, tranquil waters of the Seam. Deep down, she knew the truth drilled deep into her time and time again when she had awoken to the acrid taste of tar on her tongue and the crater, that large expanse of nothingness, greeting her vision. 

_ This was home. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I wasn't able to post this chapter yesterday on my birthday since I was really busy. However, I finally was able to write this short chapter today.
> 
> In regards to the content of this chapter specifically Sam "repatriating herself", basically I decided to do a practical take on repatriation. Meaning that when severely injured, repatriation makes those injuries disappear. I got the impression of this while playing the game since when Sam would fall, there wouldn't be any injuries on him after repatriating from what I remember. Anyways, for the sake of clarification and avoiding misunderstandings, I don't mean to make suicide a joking matter. My family had to go through a suicide of a close relative and it was hard on all of us. 
> 
> Also, again in regards to the chapter and story, I hope to be uploading a chapter by the end of this week or early next week. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope the characters weren't too OOC. It's a little hard to write Sam's character considering how much dialogue Sam had in the game. Also, to avoid any misunderstandings, I just wanted to say that I ship Higgs x Sam regardless of gender. I simply find it fun and interesting to write genderbends.


End file.
